Multiband Wireless Communication Method, Coordinating Device, and Network

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a multi-band wireless communication method, a coordinating device and a network, wherein the method is applied to a coordinating device that supports multi-band communication, wherein the coordinating device manages a node resource information table, and the node resource information table includes terminal information of a subnet where the coordinating device is located and other subnets; the method includes: the coordinating device receiving a link establishment request; the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request according to the node resource information table, instructing transmitting and receiving ends to establish a point-to-point connection or coordinating to establish relay links between the transmitting and receiving ends; and receiving and forwarding received data packets when the coordinating device is a relay node.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is the U.S. National Phase application of PCTapplication number PCT/CN2013/082863 having a PCT filing date of Sep.03, 2013, which claims priority of Chinese patent application201310286673.3 filed on Jul. 09, 2013, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications,and more particularly, to a multi-band wireless communication method, acoordinating device and a network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) wireless communication technology is atechnology that short-range terminals such as personal computers,handheld devices (such as tablets, mobile phones) are networked in thewireless mode, and the WiFi technology standard is developed by the ISOInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 WorkingGroup, and its communications bands are mainly 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.Currently, the WiFi device has almost become the standard configurationcomponent of a terminal device, however, with the popularity ofhigh-definition video technology and the development of high-speed andlarge amount of data communication technology, the relatively lowtransfer rate of a simple WiFi network cannot meet the demands ofpractical applications.

With the continuous maturity of device manufacturing level andtechnology, the civil 60 GHz wireless communication technology hasemerged, the advantage of the 60 GHz technology is large transmissionbandwidth and it is up to Gigabit-order of transfer rate, but itstransmission beam is narrow and its penetration is poor, therefore theantennas array and beam forming technology are generally used to makethe beams propagate along the line of sight in a specified direction oralong the reflection path and around obstacles to reach the receivingend. At the current stage, the 60 GHz technology standard formulatingwork is being accelerated, there are multiple standards organizationsdeveloping their own 60 GHz communication technical specifications, suchas IEEE802.11ad, IEEE802.15.3c and European Computer ManufacturersAssociation (ECMA) −387.

Unlike the 60 GHz technology, the WiFi technology can penetrateobstacles and implement a point-to-multipoint broadcast communication,and the current WiFi Direct standard released by the WiFi Alliance alsoallows wireless devices to communicate with each other without goingthrough routers. Thus, the conventional low-band WiFi technology (theWiFi involved in the following refers to the 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHzworking bands) and the 60 GHz technology can form effectivecomplementary to mixedly network the communication devices that supportboth of the technologies, they coordinate and establish a multi-bandcommunication link to meet more diverse communication needs. Currently,there have been some technologies attempting to integrate communicationmodules of multiple bands for the same terminal, to meet thecommunication compatibility needs, although this can achieve wirelesscommunication between the various types of terminals within a network,the drawback is that a plurality of communication modules are integratedin the terminal device in the network, the cost is relatively high, andthe coordination among the multiple modules also increases the load onthe terminal device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-band wirelesscommunication method, a coordinating device and a network, to solve thetechnical problem that multi-band communication has too highrequirements on terminals.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-band wirelesscommunication method to be applied to a coordinating device thatsupports multi-band communication, wherein the coordinating devicemanages a node resource information table, and the node resourceinformation table comprises terminal information of a subnet where thecoordinating device is located and other subnets; the method comprises:

the coordinating device receiving a link establishment request;

the coordinating device responding to the link establishment requestbased on the resource information table, instructing a transmitting endand a receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection orcoordinating to establish relay links between the transmitting end andthe receiving end; and

when the coordinating device is a relay node, the coordinating devicereceiving and forwarding received data packets.

Alternatively, the terminal information comprises identificationinformation used for identifying a terminal and a subnet where theterminal is located; the link establishment request comprisesidentification information of the transmitting end and the receivingend;

the coordinating device responding to the link establishment requestcomprises:

if the transmitting end is located in the subnet where the transmittingend is located or the link establishment request comes from acoordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located,the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request.

Alternatively, the relay links that the coordinating device coordinatesto establish between the transmitting end and the receiving endcomprise:

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to thereceiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to acoordinating device connecting with the receiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinatingdevice connecting with the transmitting end as well as a backward relaylink from the coordinating device to the receiving end.

Alternatively, the coordinating device receiving and forwarding receiveddata packets comprises:

when bands of the forward relay link and the backward relay link of thecoordinating device are different, the coordinating device convertingand then forwarding the received data packets.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises requested band information;

the coordinating device receiving and forwarding the received datapackets comprises:

when the requested band information is not compatible with the bandinformation supported by the receiving end, the coordinating device inthe subnet where the transmitting end is located or the coordinatingdevice in the subnet where the receiving end is located converting andthen forwarding the received data packets.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises requested band information; the coordinating devicesupports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz;

when the requested band information is 60 GHz, the coordinating deviceresponding to the link establishment request based on the node resourceinformation table comprises:

the coordinating device judging compatibility between the bandinformation supported by the receiving end and the requested bandinformation based on the node resource information table;

if not compatible, the coordinating device establishing a first relaylink to the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receivingend;

if compatible, the coordinating device judging whether the transmittingend and the receiving end are located in a same subnet;

if located in the same subnet, the coordinating device instructing thetransmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-pointconnection; if located in different subnets, the coordinating device inthe subnet where the transmitting end is located forwarding the linkestablishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnetwhere the transmitting end is located establishing a first relay link tothe transmitting end, the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located establishing a second relay link to thereceiving end, and the coordinating device in the subnet where thetransmitting end is located establishing a third relay link to thecoordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises requested band information; the coordinating devicesupports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz;

when the requested band information is WiFi, the coordinating deviceresponding to the link establishment request based on the node resourceinformation table comprises:

the coordinating device judging compatibility between the bandinformation supported by the receiving end and the requested bandinformation based on the node resource information table;

if compatible, the coordinating device establishing a first relay linkto the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receiving end, orinstructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish apoint-to-point connection;

if not compatible, judging whether the transmitting end and thereceiving end are located in a same subnet;

if located in the same subnet, the coordinating device establishing afirst relay link to the transmitting end and a second relay link to thereceiving end; if located in different subnets, the coordinating devicein the subnet where the transmitting end is located forwarding the linkestablishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnetwhere the receiving end is located establishing a first relay link tothe transmitting end as well a second relay link to the receiving end.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises point-to-pointcapability information;

the coordinating device instructing the transmitting end and thereceiving end to establish a point-to-point connection comprises:

when the band information supported by the receiving end is compatiblewith the requested band information and both the transmitting end andthe receiving end have the point to point capability, the coordinatingdevice instructing the transmitting and receiving ends to establish thepoint-to-point connection.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a coordinatingdevice that supports multi-band communication, comprising:

an information managing unit, which is configured to: manage a noderesource information table, wherein the node resource information tablecomprises terminal information of a subnet where the coordinating deviceis located as well as other subnets;

a request receiving unit, configured to: receive a link establishmentrequest;

a request responding unit, configured to: respond to the linkestablishment request based on the resource information table, instructa transmitting end and a receiving end to establish a point-to-pointconnection or coordinate to establish relay links between thetransmitting end and the receiving end; and

a packet forwarding unit, configured to: when the coordinating device isa relay node, receive and forward received data packets.

Alternatively, the terminal information comprises identificationinformation used for identifying a terminal and a subnet where theterminal is located; the link establishment request comprisesidentification information of the transmitting end and identificationinformation of the receiving end;

the request responding unit is configured to respond to the linkestablishment request in the following manner:

if the transmitting end is located in the subnet where the transmittingend is located or the link establishment request comes from acoordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located,responding to the link establishment request.

Alternatively, the relay links that the request responding unitcoordinates to establish between the transmitting end and the receivingend comprise:

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to thereceiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to acoordinating device connecting with the receiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinatingdevice connecting with the transmitting end as well as a backward relaylink from the coordinating device to the receiving end.

Alternatively, the packet forwarding unit is configured to receive andforward the received data packets in the following manner:

when bands of the forward relay link and the backward relay link of thecoordinating device are different, converting and then forwarding thereceived data packets.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises requested band information;

the packet forwarding unit is configured to receive and forward thereceived data packets in the following manner:

when the requested band information is not compatible with the bandinformation supported by the receiving end, and the coordinating deviceworks as a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting endis located or a coordinating device in the subnet where the receivingend is located, converting and then forwarding the received datapackets.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises requested band information; the coordinating devicesupports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz;

the request responding unit comprises:

a compatibility judging unit, configured to: judge compatibility betweenthe band information supported by the receiving end and the requestedband information based on the node resource information table;

a cross-subnet judging unit, configured to: when the requested bandinformation is 60 GHz and when judged as compatible, or when therequested band information is WiFi and when judged as not compatible,judge whether the transmitting end and the receiving end are located ina same subnet;

a request forwarding unit, configured to: when the coordinating deviceworks as a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting endis located and the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judgedas cross-subnet, or when the requested band information is WiFi and whenjudged as cross-subnet, forward the link establishment request to thecoordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located;and

a link establishing unit, configured to: instruct the transmitting endand the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection or relaylinks;

wherein, the link establishing unit is configured to instruct thetransmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-pointconnection or relay links in the following manner:

when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as notcompatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi and whenjudged as compatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi andwhen judged as being in the same subnet, establishing a first relay linkto the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receiving end;

when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as beingin the same subnet, or when the requested band information is WiFi andwhen judged as compatible, instructing the transmitting end and thereceiving end to establish a point-to-point connection;

when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged ascross-subnet, if the coordinating device works as a coordinating devicein the subnet where the transmitting end is located, establishing afirst relay link to the transmitting end as well as a third relay linkto the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end islocated; if the coordinating device works as a coordinating device inthe subnet where the receiving end is located, establishing a secondrelay link to the receiving end and a third relay link to thecoordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located;

when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged ascross-subnet, if the coordinating device works as a coordinating devicein the subnet where the receiving end is located, establishing a firstrelay link to the transmitting end as well as a second relay link to thereceiving end.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises point-to-pointcapability information;

the link establishing unit is configured to instruct the transmittingend and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection inthe following manner:

when the band information supported by the receiving end is compatiblewith the requested band information and both the transmitting end andthe receiving end have the point-to-point capability, instructing thetransmitting end and the receiving end to establish the point-to-pointconnection.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a multi-bandwireless communication network, comprising at least two subnets, whereineach subnet comprises:

the abovementioned coordinating device, which is configured to: supportcommunication in at least two bands; and

at least two terminals, wherein, each of the terminals supportscommunication in at least one band.

Through the multi-band wireless communication network, coordinatingdevice and communication method according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, using a coordinating device that supportscommunication in at least two bands, the communication terminal is notrequired to have the multi-band communication capability, i.e., thecoordinating device can be used to realize the multi-band mixednetworking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-band wireless communicationnetwork in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of module configuration of a coordinatingdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of terminal information of a node resourceinformation table;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of module configuration of a coordinatingdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a multi-band radio communication methodin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are schematic diagrams of a processing procedure of acoordinating device when the requested bands are 60 GHz and WiFi inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8-FIG. 11 are schematic diagrams of a link in application examplesof the present invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, theembodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Itshould be noted that in the case of no conflict, embodiments andfeatures in the embodiments of the present application may bearbitrarily combined with each other.

A multi-band wireless communication network according to the embodimentof the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, and the communicationnetwork comprises at least two subnets, FIG. 1 shows five subnets,wherein each subnet comprises:

a coordinating device, which is used to support communication in atleast two bands;

at least two terminals, wherein the terminals support communications inat least one band.

FIG. 1 shows an application scenario of a short-range wirelesscommunication network consisting of multiple rooms in a typical indoorenvironment, since there are wall obstructions between rooms, the 60 GHzLOS (Line Of Sight) communication cannot be performed across the rooms,and coordinating devices can be respectively installed in a centrallocation of the corridor ceiling and at the junctions between the roomsand the corridor to establish the 60 GHz relay link.

In the following, the module configuration of a coordinating device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention will beillustrated, as described above, each coordinating device manages asubnet, and the coordinating device supports multi-band communication,as shown in FIG. 2, the coordinating device comprises:

An information managing unit 21, which is used to manage the noderesource information table, wherein the node resource information tablecomprises terminal information of the subnet where the coordinatingdevice is located as well as other subnets;

A request receiving unit 22, which is used to receive a linkestablishment request;

A request responding unit 23, which is used to respond to the linkestablishment request according to the node resource information table,and instruct a transmitting end and a receiving end to establish apoint-to-point connection or coordinate to establish relay links betweenthe transmitting end and the receiving end;

and

A packet forwarding unit 24, which is used to receive and forward thereceived data packets when the coordinating device is a relay node.

The terminal information comprises identification information foridentifying a terminal and a subnet where the terminal is located, theidentification information may be a string, a part of which is used toidentify the subnet where the terminal is located, and the other part ofwhich is used to identify the terminal within the subnet, the linkestablishment request comprises identification information of thetransmitting end and the receiving end;

the request responding unit 23 is configured to respond to the linkestablishment request in the following manner:

if the transmitting end is located in the subnet where it is located orthe link establishment request comes from a coordinating device in thesubnet where the transmitting end is located, responding to the linkestablishment request.

For a link establishment request to request for WiFi, due to therelatively strong WiFi signal capability, besides that the coordinatingdevice in the subnet where the transmitting end is located can receivethe link establishment request, the coordinating devices in othersubnets may also receive the link establishment request, in order tosimplify the processing, when a coordinating device receiving the linkestablishment request determines that neither the transmitting end northe receiving end is in the subnet to which the coordinating devicebelongs, it does not process the link establishment request, and whenthe link establishment request is cross-subnet, the coordinating devicein the subnet where the transmitting end is located sends a linkestablishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnetwhere the receiving end is located processes the link establishmentrequest.

When it is unable to establish a point-to-point connection from thetransmitting end to the receiving end or it is to establish a relayconnection by default, the coordinating device works as a relay node,relay links that the request responding unit 23 of the coordinatingdevice coordinates to establish between the transmitting end and thereceiving end comprise:

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to thereceiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to acoordinating device connecting with the receiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinatingdevice connecting with the transmitting end as well as a backward relaylink from the coordinating device to the receiving end.

Alternatively, when the bands of the forward relay link and the backwardrelay link of the coordinating device are different, the packetforwarding unit 24 converts and then forwards the received data packets.This makes terminals supporting different bands can communicate throughthe converting and forwarding functions of the coordinating device.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, besides the identificationinformation, the terminal information further comprises band informationsupported by the terminal; the link establishment request furthercomprises requested band information; when the requested bandinformation is not compatible with the band information supported by thereceiving end, the coordinating device works as the coordinating devicein the subnet where the transmitting end or the receiving end islocated, and the packet forwarding unit 24 converts and then forwardsthe received data packets.

In the following, the coordinating device supporting two bands, WiFi and60 GHz, is taken as an example to describe the function of the requestresponding unit 23.

In order to coordinate different types of communication requirements(WiFi communication and 60 GHz communication), the coordinating devicein the network shall be simultaneously equipped with both the WiFifunctional module and the 60 GHz functional module. The WiFi module andthe 60 GHz module may be independently integrated into the samecoordinating device, or may be integrated into the same coordinatingdevice by means of be independent in the bottom layer and be in commonin the high layer (be independent in the physical (PHY) layer, and incommon in the MAC (Media Access Control) layer and above; or beindependent in the PHY layer and the MAC layer, and in common in theradio link control (RLC) layer and above). The terminals in each roomare not compulsively equipped with both the WiFi module and the 60 GHzmodule.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal information further comprises the bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises the requested band information; the coordinatingdevice supports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz, as shown in FIG. 4, therequest responding unit 23 comprises:

A compatibility judging unit 231, which is used to judge thecompatibility between the band information supported by the receivingend and the requested band information based on the node resourceinformation table;

A cross-subnet judging unit 232, which is used to judge whether thetransmitting end and the receiving end are located in the same subnetwhen the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged ascompatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi and whenjudged as not compatible;

A request forwarding unit 233, which is used to forward a linkestablishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located when the coordinating device works as thecoordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is locatedand the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged ascross-subnet, or when the requested band information is WiFi and whenjudged as cross-subnet; and

A link establishing unit 234, which is used to instruct the transmittingend and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection orrelay links;

the link establishing unit is used to instruct the transmitting end andthe receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection or relaylinks in the following manner:

when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as notcompatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi and whenjudged as not compatible, or when the requested band information is WiFiand when judged as being in the same subnet, establishing a first relaylink to the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receivingend;

when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as beingin the same subnet, or when the requested band information is WiFi andwhen judged as compatible, instructing the transmitting end and thereceiving end to establish a point-to-point connection;

when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged ascross-subnet, establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end aswell as a third relay link to the coordinating device in the subnetwhere the receiving end is located if the coordinating device works as acoordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located;establishing a second relay link to the receiving end and a third relaylink to the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting endis located if the coordinating device works as a coordinating device inthe subnet where the receiving end is located;

when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged ascross-subnet, establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end aswell as a second relay link to the receiving end if the coordinatingdevice works as a coordinating device in the subnet where the receivingend is located.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises thepoint-to-point capability information; when the receiving end iscompatible with the requested band information and both the transmittingend and the receiving end have the point-to-point capability, thecoordinating device instructs the transmitting end and the receiving endto establish a point-to-point connection.

The embodiment of the present invention can achieve mixed networking ofthe WiFi band and 60 GHz band, does not require the compatibility ofcommunication bands of the terminal, and can achieve 60 GHzcommunication of cross-subnet.

In the following, the multi-band radio communication method according tothe embodiment of the present invention will be described, the method isapplied to coordinating devices supporting multi-band communication, asdescribed above, the coordinating device manages the node resourceinformation table, and the node resource information table comprisesterminal information of the subnet where the coordinating device islocated and other subnets, as shown in FIG. 5, the method comprises thefollowing steps:

in step 501, the coordinating device receives a link establishmentrequest.

The link establishment request received by the coordinating device maycome from the transmitting end or from the coordinating device in thesubnet where the transmitting end is located.

In step 502, the coordinating device responds to the link establishmentrequest according to the node resource information table, and instructsthe transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-pointconnection or coordinates to establish relay links between thetransmitting end and the receiving end.

The terminal information comprises identification information foridentifying the terminal and the subnet where the terminal is located,the link establishment request comprises the identification informationof the transmitting end and the receiving end; the coordinating deviceresponding to the link establishment request comprises:

if the transmitting end is located in the subnet where it is located, orthe link establishment request comes from the coordinating device in thesubnet where the transmitting end is located, the coordinating deviceresponding to the link establishment request.

Alternatively, the relay links established between the transmitting endand the receiving end through coordinating by the coordinating devicescomprises:

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to thereceiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmittingend as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to acoordinating device connecting with the receiving end; or,

a forward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinatingdevice connecting with the transmitting end as well as a backward relaylink from the coordinating device to the receiving end.

In step 503, when the coordinating device is a relay node, it receivesand forwards the received data packets.

When the bands of the forward relay link and the backward relay link ofthe coordinating device are different, the coordinating device convertsand then forwards the received data packets.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises the bandinformation supported by the terminal; the link establishment requestfurther comprises the requested band information; the coordinatingdevice in the subnet where the transmitting end is located or thecoordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is locatedconverts and then forwards the received data packets when the requestedband information is not compatible with the band information supportedby the receiving end.

The coordinating device judges whether the communication bands of boththe transmitting and receiving ends are compatible by querying the noderesource information table.

The terminal information further comprises the band informationsupported by the terminal; the link establishment request furthercomprises the requested band information; in the following, the scenarioin which the coordinating device supports the two bands: WiFi and 60 GHzwill be described, if the requested band information is 60 GHz, as shownin FIG. 6, the coordinating device responding to the link establishmentrequest according to the node resource information table comprises thefollowing steps:

in step 601, the coordinating device judges the compatibility betweenthe band information supported by the receiving end and the requestedband information according to the node resource information table.

In step 602, if they are not compatible, the coordinating deviceestablishes a first relay link to the transmitting end and a secondrelay link to the receiving end.

In step 603, if they are compatible, it is to judge whether thetransmitting end and the receiving end are located in the same subnet.

In step 604, if they are located in the same subnet, it is to instructthe transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-pointconnection.

In step 605, if they are cross-subnet, the coordinating device in thesubnet where the transmitting end is located forwards the linkestablishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnetwhere the transmitting end is located establishes a first relay link tothe transmitting end, the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located establishes a second relay link to thereceiving end, and the coordinating device in the subnet where thetransmitting end is located establishes a third relay link to thecoordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located.

If the requested band information is WiFi, as shown in FIG. 7, thecoordinating device responding to the link establishment requestaccording to the node resource information table comprises the followingsteps:

in step 701, the coordinating device judges the compatibility betweenthe band information supported by the receiving end and the requestedband information according to the node resource information table.

In step 702, if they are compatible, the coordinating device establishesa first relay link to the transmitting end and a second relay link tothe receiving end, or instructs the transmitting end and the receivingend to establish a point-to-point connection.

In step 703, if they are not compatible, it is to judge whether thetransmitting end and the receiving end are located in the same subnet.

In step 704, if they are located in the same subnet, the coordinatingdevice establishes a first relay link to the transmitting end and asecond relay link to the receiving end.

In step 705, if they are cross-subnet, the coordinating device in thesubnet where the transmitting end is located forwards a linkestablishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where thereceiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnetwhere the receiving end is located establishes a first relay link to thetransmitting end as well as a second relay link to the receiving end.

Alternatively, the terminal information further comprises thepoint-to-point capability information, when the band informationsupported by the receiving end is compatible with the requested bandinformation and both the transmitting end and the receiving end have thepoint-to-point capability, the coordinating device instructs thetransmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-pointconnection.

The multi-band wireless communication network, coordinating device andcommunication method in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention do not require the terminal communication having themulti-band communication capability, that is, multi-band mixednetworking can be achieved through coordinating devices, for example,the mixed networking of the WiFi band and the 60 GHz band is able tosolve the problem of 60 GHz transmission between different subnets.

Hereinafter, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings andapplication examples, the method according to the embodiments of thepresent invention will be described in detail.

Application Example 1

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a terminal 801 that onlysupports WiFi communication and a terminal 802 that only supports 60 GHzcommunication are in the same subnet, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of alink established by the terminal 801 that only supports the WiFicommunication and the terminal 802 that only supports the 60 GHzcommunication in the same subnet, since the communications bands of theterminal 801 and the terminal 802 are not compatible, a point-to-pointlink cannot be established, and a coordinating device 803 is needed tocoordinate to establish relay links.

The terminal transmitting end 801 transmits a link establishment requestto the coordinating device 803 in the subnet where it is located, andthe request comprises terminal information of the transmitting end 801and the receiving end 802 as well as the established WiFi band link;

the coordinating device 803 judges the compatibility between thecommunications bands of both terminal transmitting and receiving endsaccording to the node resource information table;

when judged as not compatible, the coordinating device 803 instructsboth the transmitting and receiving ends to establish relay linksthrough the coordinating device 803, wherein, it establishes a WiFirelay link with the terminal transmitting end 801 and establishes a 60GHz relay link with the terminal receiving end 802.

The transmitting end 801 and the receiving end 802 confirm theinstruction, establish a communication link to communicate, wherein,because the forward relay link of the coordinating device 803 is a WiFirelay link and its backward relay link is a 60 GHz relay link, the bandsare not compatible, the coordinating device 803 needs to convert andthen forward the received data packets.

Application Example 2

In the application example 2, as shown in FIG. 9, if the terminaltransmitting end 901 and the terminal receiving end 902 support the 60GHz communication at the same time and are located in the same subnet,when the transmitting end 901 requests to establish a link of a bandsupported by both the transmitting end 901 and the receiving end 902through a link establishment request, because the communication bands ofthe transmitting end 901 and the receiving end 902 are compatible, thecoordinating device 903 instructs the receiving end 902 and thetransmitting end 901 to establish a 60 GHz point-to-point connection.

In the application example 2, as shown in FIG. 10, if both the terminaltransmitting end 1001 and the terminal receiving end 1002 support theWiFi communication and have the point-to-point link establishmentcapability, no matter whether they are in the same subnet, when thetransmitting end 1001 requests to establish a link of the band supportedby both the transmitting end 1001 and the receiving end 1002 through alink establishment request, because the communication bands of thetransmitting end 1001 and the receiving end 1002 are compatible, thecoordinating device 1003 instructs the receiving end 1002 and thetransmitting end 1001 to establish a WiFi point-to-point connection.

In the application example 2, if both the transmitting end and thereceiving end of the terminal support the WiFi communication, at leastone end does not have the point-to-point link establishment capabilityand both the transmitting end and the receiving end are located in thesame subnet, when the transmitting end requests to establish a link of aband supported by both the transmitting and receiving ends through thelink establishment request, because the communication bands of thetransmitting end and the receiving end are compatible but at least oneend does not have the point-to-point link establishment capability, thecoordinating device establishes relay links with the transmitting endand the receiving end, wherein it establishes WiFi relay links with theterminal transmitting end and the terminal receiving end respectively.In this situation, although the coordinating device also serves as arelay node, because the bands of its forward and back relay links arecompatible, the coordinating device does not need convert the receiveddata packets.

Application Example 3

The terminal transmitting and receiving ends in this application exampleonly support the 60 GHz communication, but the transmitting end and thereceiving end are located in different subnets. As shown in FIG. 11, thelink establishment request of the terminal transmitting end 1101 is sentto the coordinating device 1103 in the subnet where it is located,because both the terminal transmitting and receiving ends support the 60GHz communication, the request is sent to the coordinating device 1104in the subnet where the receiving end 1102 is located, and eventually acomplete communication link is established.

The terminal transmitting end 1101 sends a link establishment request tothe coordinating device 1103 in the subnet where it is located, and therequest comprises the terminal information of the terminal transmittingand receiving ends as well as the required communication mode;

the coordinating device 1103 judges the band compatibility;

When the terminal receiving end 1102 supports the 60 GHz communicationand it is cross-subnet, the coordinating device 1103 forwards the linkestablishment request to the coordinating device 1104 according to thelocal node resource information table;

the coordinating device 1103 establishes a 60 GHz relay link with theterminal transmitting end 1101, and establishes a 60 GHz relay link withthe coordination device 1104, the coordinating device 1104 establishes a60 GHz relay link with the terminal receiving end 1102.

It should be noted that the embodiment of the present invention is notlimited to that only the coordinating device has the relay function, ifa certain terminal has the relay function, it can also be used as arelay node, and the information such as service status and service typeof a node can also be added into the node resource information table toprovide a reference for route calculation. In addition, the relay nodein the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to playing therole of transit so as to meet the communications band compatibility, forexample, when the point-to-point link is blocked, the relay node can beused as a transit node to establish a relay link; when the WiFi Directlink is not supported between the compatible WiFi terminals, the relaynode can also act as a router. For simplicity, the embodiment of thepresent invention does not discuss those embodiments.

It is worth noting that, after all of the above communication links areestablished, the terminal may request the coordinating device forreplacing the communication link in the communication process when thetransmission quality deteriorates. For example, when the LOS linkquality deteriorates, the coordinating device can coordinate to switchthe LOS link to the relay link.

Those ordinarily skilled in the art can understand that all or some ofsteps of the abovementioned method may be completed by the programsinstructing the relevant hardware, and the programs may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium, such as read only memory, magnetic oroptical disk. Alternatively, all or some of the steps of theabovementioned embodiments may also be implemented by using one or moreintegrated circuits. Accordingly, each module/unit in the abovementionedembodiments may be realized in a form of hardware, or in a form ofsoftware function modules. The present invention is not limited to anyspecific form of hardware and software combinations.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,for specific circumstances, various modifications may be implemented onthe embodiments of the present invention, and any changes, equivalentreplacements, and improvements made thereon should not depart from theprotection scope of the appended claims of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Multi-band mixed networking can be implemented through coordinatingdevices in the embodiment of the present invention.

1. A multi-band wireless communication method, applied to a coordinating device that supports multi-band communication, wherein, the coordinating device manages a node resource information table, and the node resource information table comprises terminal information of a subnet where the coordinating device is located and other subnets; the method comprises: the coordinating device receiving a link establishment request; the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request based on the resource information table, instructing a transmitting end and a receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection or coordinating to establish relay links between the transmitting end and the receiving end; and when the coordinating device is a relay node, the coordinating device receiving and forwarding received data packets.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the terminal information comprises identification information used for identifying a terminal and a subnet where the terminal is located; the link establishment request comprises identification information of the transmitting end and identification information of the receiving end; the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request comprises: if the transmitting end is located in the subnet where the transmitting end is located or the link establishment request comes from a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located, the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein, the relay links that the coordinating device coordinates to establish between the transmitting end and the receiving end comprise: a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmitting end as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to the receiving end; or, a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmitting end as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinating device connecting with the receiving end; or, a forward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinating device connecting with the transmitting end as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to the receiving end.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein, the coordinating device receiving and forwarding received data packets comprises: when bands of the forward relay link and the backward relay link of the coordinating device are different, the coordinating device converting and then forwarding the received data packets.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein, the terminal information further comprises band information supported by the terminal; the link establishment request further comprises requested band information; the coordinating device receiving and forwarding received data packets comprises: when the requested band information is not compatible with band information supported by the receiving end, the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located or the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located converting and then forwarding the received data packets.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein, the terminal information further comprises band information supported by the terminal; the link establishment request further comprises requested band information; the coordinating device supports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz; when the requested band information is 60 GHz, the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request based on the node resource information table comprises: the coordinating device judging compatibility between the band information supported by the receiving end and the requested band information based on the node resource information table; if not compatible, the coordinating device establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receiving end; if compatible, the coordinating device judging whether the transmitting end and the receiving end are located in a same subnet; if located in the same subnet, the coordinating device instructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection; if located in different subnets, the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located forwarding the link establishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end, the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located establishing a second relay link to the receiving end, and the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located establishing a third relay link to the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein, the terminal information further comprises band information supported by the terminal; the link establishment request further comprises requested band information; the coordinating device supports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz; when the requested band information is WiFi, the coordinating device responding to the link establishment request based on the node resource information table comprises: the coordinating device judging compatibility between the band information supported by the receiving end and the requested band information based on the node resource information table; if compatible, the coordinating device establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receiving end, or instructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection; if not compatible, judging whether the transmitting end and the receiving end are located in a same subnet; if located in the same subnet, the coordinating device establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receiving end; if located in different subnets, the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located forwarding the link establishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located, and the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end as well a second relay link to the receiving end.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein, the terminal information further comprises point-to-point capability information; the coordinating device instructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection comprises: when the band information supported by the receiving end is compatible with the requested band information and both the transmitting end and the receiving end have the point-to-point capability, the coordinating device instructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish the point-to-point connection.
 9. A coordinating device that supports multi-band communication, comprising: an information managing unit, which is configured to: manage a node resource information table, wherein the node resource information table comprises terminal information of a subnet where the coordinating device is located as well as other subnets; a request receiving unit, configured to: receive a link establishment request; a request responding unit, configured to: respond to the link establishment request based on the resource information table, instruct a transmitting end and a receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection or coordinate to establish relay links between the transmitting end and the receiving end; and a packet forwarding unit, configured to: when the coordinating device is a relay node, receive and forward received data packets.
 10. The coordinating device of claim 9, wherein, the terminal information comprises identification information used for identifying a terminal and a subnet where the terminal is located; the link establishment request comprises identification information of the transmitting end and identification information of the receiving end; the request responding unit is configured to respond to the link establishment request by means of: if the transmitting end is located in the subnet where the transmitting end is located or the link establishment request comes from a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located, responding to the link establishment request.
 11. The coordinating device of claim 9, wherein, the relay links that the request responding unit coordinates to establish between the transmitting end and the receiving end comprise: a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmitting end as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to the receiving end; or, a forward relay link from the coordinating device to the transmitting end as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinating device connecting with the receiving end; or, a forward relay link from the coordinating device to a coordinating device connecting with the transmitting end as well as a backward relay link from the coordinating device to the receiving end.
 12. The coordinating device of claim 11, wherein, the packet forwarding unit is configured to receive and forward the received data packets by means of: when bands of the forward relay link and the backward relay link of the coordinating device are different, converting and then forwarding the received data packets.
 13. The coordinating device of claim 9, wherein, the terminal information further comprises band information supported by the terminal; the link establishment request further comprises requested band information; the packet forwarding unit is configured to receive and forward the received data packets by means of: when the requested band information is not compatible with band information supported by the receiving end, and the coordinating device works as a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located or a coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located, converting and then forwarding the received data packets.
 14. The coordinating device of claim 9, wherein, the terminal information further comprises band information supported by the terminal; the link establishment request further comprises requested band information; the coordinating device supports two bands: WiFi and 60 GHz; the request responding unit comprises: a compatibility judging unit, configured to: judge compatibility between the band information supported by the receiving end and the requested band information based on the node resource information table; a cross-subnet judging unit, configured to: when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as compatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged as not compatible, judge whether the transmitting end and the receiving end are located in a same subnet; a request forwarding unit, configured to: when the coordinating device works as a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located and the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as cross-subnet, or when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged as cross-subnet, forward the link establishment request to the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located; and a link establishing unit, configured to: instruct the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection or relay links; wherein, the link establishing unit is configured to instruct the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection or relay links by means of: when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as not compatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged as compatible, or when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged as being in the same subnet, establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end and a second relay link to the receiving end; when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as being in the same subnet, or when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged as compatible, instructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection; when the requested band information is 60 GHz and when judged as cross-subnet, if the coordinating device works as a coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located, establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end as well as a third relay link to the coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located; if the coordinating device works as a coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located, establishing a second relay link to the receiving end and a third relay link to the coordinating device in the subnet where the transmitting end is located; when the requested band information is WiFi and when judged as cross-subnet, if the coordinating device works as a coordinating device in the subnet where the receiving end is located, establishing a first relay link to the transmitting end as well as a second relay link to the receiving end.
 15. The coordinating device of claim 14, wherein, the terminal information further comprises point-to-point capability information; the link establishing unit is configured to instruct the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish a point-to-point connection by means of: when the band information supported by the receiving end is compatible with the requested band information and both the transmitting end and the receiving end have the point-to-point capability, instructing the transmitting end and the receiving end to establish the point-to-point connection.
 16. A multi-band wireless communication network, comprising at least two subnets, wherein each subnet comprises: the coordinating device of claim 9, which is configured to: support communication in at least two bands; and at least two terminals, wherein, each of the terminals supports communication in at least one band. 